A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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When a group of community members formed in 2022 with the goal of bringing a million dollars’ worth of artificial turf to Bromberg Field, they could not have predicted that the Cloquet school board would approve a nearly $5 million project to overhaul the outdoor athletic facilities at the high school a year later. But that’s exactly what happened. Cloquet school board members voted unanimously Monday to approve a $4.99 million project. The plan includes replacing the current grass football and...
There are a few state road construction projects planned in Carlton County this season, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced this week through its District 1 office in Duluth that covers northeast Minnesota. The Minnesota Highway 210 project in Cromwell will be finished with sidewalk, turf, striping and sign installations. Four culverts from Cromwell to Interstate 35 on Hwy. 210 will be replaced, a project that was on the docket last year but wasn’t completed. The I-35 bridge over Carlton County Road 61 in Twin Lakes Township w...
Because of the recent high temperatures and reduced overnight freezing, Carlton County is already beginning to experience flooding in many areas. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Thursday for Carlton County that will last through 4 p.m. Monday. Numerous roads remain closed or washed out due to flooding and streams continue to rise due to excess runoff from earlier rainfall and snowmelt. Low water crossings are inundated with water and may not be passible, a county warning...
Rapid snow melt continues to cause high flows in Western Lake Superior Sanitary District’s (WLSSD) sanitary sewer collection system in Duluth. Peak flow to the wastewater treatment plant exceeded 120 million gallons per day on Tuesday, April 11th and continues to flow at nearly three times the standard rate of 38 million gallons per day. With wet weather forecasted for the weekend, WLSSD reminds residents that the spring thaw often brings water related incidents. Residents may experience flooding due to swelling creeks and rivers, sump pump f...
Midway through the second quarter of the NCAA Division II women's basketball championship game, the announcers on the CBS Sports Network national broadcast mentioned Cromwell. That's because they were referring to Taya Hakamaki, a junior guard for the University of Minnesota Duluth team and high school player at Cromwell-Wright. The announcement likely caused cheers at many establishments in Carlton County that aired the title game Saturday afternoon. "I didn't realize they mentioned Cromwell,"...
The proposed artificial turf athletic complex at Cloquet High School is expected to cost $4.9 million, the school board learned Wednesday. Meeting with contractor Kraus-Anderson during a committee of the whole gathering at Garfield School, the board seemed to have an appetite for the project and its costs. Board members had been asking for financial and design specifics for weeks, during what has been an accelerated design and planning process. What started as a community conversation last spring could see construction this summer and yield new...
Cloquet city councilors took care of business in only five minutes Tuesday, setting an unofficial record for the shortest meeting of the year with only three members and mayor Roger Maki present on a windy wintry evening. Aside from approving bills, payroll and some end-of-year account transfers, there was only one current business item on the agenda: approval of a minor subdivision plat, to create three lots on a 17-acre property at the corner of Laine and Stark roads. Landowners Andy and Sandy Elias were in the audience. They plan to build a...
Minnesota lawmakers took a brief break this week before launching into the final sprint of the legislative session. Debates around tax relief, recreational cannabis, paid family and medical leave — as well as the bulk of a $72 billion budget proposal — are ahead. And details about what will make it through the DFL-controlled Capitol this year will become clearer in the next couple weeks. Ahead of the Easter and Passover recess, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said that the las... 
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Before Russia invaded Ukraine last year, her baby, Stefa, was beginning to talk, said Anastasiia, a Ukrainian woman now living in Carlton. Then the air raid sirens started. Sometimes they would go off for seven hours in a row. "She became numb and stopped talking," Stefa's mom said through translator Galyna Tuttle. On this particular Saturday morning, however, the now 2 ½-year-old was running around upstairs at Common Ground Coffee Bar & Deli, taking advantage of the wide-open space. She...
It's been a long wait for sugarbush time. The sap flows when warm days follow cold nights, and with the arrival of the spring equinox, we're there. Sap flows when the pressure inside the tree is greater than the external atmospheric pressure. Bruce and Tawny Savage welcomed the Fond du Lac Reservation Historical Society and the Carlton County Historical Society to Spirit Lake Native Farms a few weeks ago, in the midst of yet another snowstorm, to learn about taking care of the trees, stringing...
Angela Sjodin was sitting next to her unconscious daughter and thinking about the moments before everything changed. "Let's go for a walk, Mom," Angela wrote of the day before her daughters Janae and Jaela were injured in a car crash on Friday, March 24, coming home from softball practice. Angela recalled telling Janae the day before that she had work to do, charting for her social work job. "Charting will always be there, I will not be," Angela wrote of the conversation. Janae was referring to...
If you scroll Facebook or other social media, you've seen how spring roads in Minnesota have taken on a new life in memes. Many of the humorous images feature the character Jack from the blockbuster film "Titanic" shown submerged in a pothole. "It's one of the worst years I've seen for potholes," said Ross Biebl, assistant public works director for the city of Cloquet. "The roads are as bad or worse than they are in a normal year at this time," said Rick Norrgard, assistant transportation...
Carlton County Public Health is holding one more childhood vaccine clinic next week for children in grades K-12 who need vaccinations to meet school requirements, on Tuesday, April 4 at the Carlton County Community Services Building at 14 N. 11th Street in Cloquet. There is no cost. Insurance information will be collected if the child is insured; there is no charge for uninsured children. Parents must register for appointments, available 3-4:30 p.m., online at co.carlton.mn.us or by calling 218-879-4511. Available vaccines include DTap/polio...
The Minnesota Department of Transportation ended winter load increases — and started spring load restrictions — in the north-central and north zones (including Carlton County) on March 29. Ending dates for spring load restrictions are variable and based on The Minnesota Department of Transportation ended winter load increases — and started spring load restrictions — in the north-central and north zones (including Carlton County) on March 29. Ending dates for spring load restrictions are variable and based on how weather is affecting roadway...
With about two weeks left before the April 18 deadline, more than 1.8 million Minnesotans have already filed their income tax returns with nearly 1 million already getting their refunds. “The weeks leading up to the deadline are often the busiest of the tax season,” said Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart. “We anticipate hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans will file between now and the April 18 deadline. For those that haven’t filed yet, the Minnesota Department of Revenue offers these tips.” Need tax filing assistance? Free tax preparati...
The Essentia Health medical supply distribution center is moving to 126 Bedrock Lane in the Esko Industrial Park by late 2024. A 163,000-square-foot warehouse is planned to support the medical supply needs of six Essentia Health facilities regionally, reaching to the Dakotas. The supply center is currently operating in West Duluth in a warehouse only one-third the size of the proposed construction project. Twenty to 25 full-time jobs will be moved from West Duluth to the new facility. The...
With the dismissal of a state lawsuit March 13, the door shut on a fired Cloquet police officer’s attempts to sue those he blamed for his dismissal. Scott Holman, a detective and K-9 officer who had worked for the Cloquet police department for 22 years, was fired by the city council in June 2019. Although the city administrator would say only that the dismissal was a “personnel matter,” the action came after the Carlton County attorney’s office identified past misconduct issues for Holman that could affect his ability to be a credible witness...
When Jessie Graddy started teaching at South Terrace Elementary School three years ago, she wondered why the school wasn't participating in higher-level activities, such as spelling and geography bees and Math Masters competitions. Instead of shrugging, she acted, creating all three extra outlets. "I'm just trying to elevate our school a little bit," said Graddy, a fifth-grade teacher. On April 21, the school's fifth-grade Math Masters team will participate at a competition in Duluth, one of 17...
While the parking lot outside Cloquet City Hall filled with union members rallying in support of project labor agreements Tuesday, councilors inside the building steeled themselves for a contentious discussion on the subject. Ultimately the Cloquet City Council voted 5-2 - with Lyz Jaakola and Sheila Lamb the two "no" votes - to remove the PLA mandate for private businesses from city code. At issue was a request by the city's Economic Development Authority that the council remove the private man...
The case of a fight between drunk friends that ended with one of them dead 18 months ago concluded Monday in Sixth District Court in Carlton County. In a departure from state guidelines, Judge Rebekka Stumme placed Joel Jay Ammesmaki, 59, on probation, but with a longer-than-usual sentence for second-degree manslaughter if Ammesmaki violates that probation. “The ball is in your court,” Stumme told Ammesmaki Monday, also dictating that Ammesmaki complete 150 hours of community service by speaking to groups about his experience. “You have a lot o...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa was featured this week in an announcement aimed at curbing food insecurity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service said Wednesday it signed a cooperative agreement with the Fond du Lac Band under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. The Band will purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers. Using LFPA funds, the Band will establish the Aandanjigewin Local Foods Purchasing Agreement p...
The proposal to update Cloquet's outdoor athletic facilities for nearly $4.6 million remained in flux this week, causing school board members and superintendent Michael Cary to set an April 10 date to formally approve the project. "We are, in theory, a month away from breaking ground," Cary said. "[Contractors] need lead time to be able to order material and supplies. They were extremely nervous about pushing it to [April 10]. Beyond the 10th, they won't be able to do the project this year....
Jana Peterson [email protected] Wrenshall School Board members have been busy, with greater insights as a result of all their efforts. In addition to nearly weekly meetings to study school issues and finances, different board members climbed on the school roof Saturday and/or traveled to St. Paul for a "day at the capitol," arriving back in Wrenshall in time for Monday's regular school board meeting. The various excursions provided some vital information to the board: 1. Although Saturday's...
The Carlton school board formally hired Donita Stepan for the position of superintendent with the approval of her contract Monday, March 20. Stepan will start on July 1 of this year, earning a salary of $134,859, which includes $10,000 for elementary principal duties at South Terrace, health insurance and other benefits. The package is an increase over the amount current superintendent John Engstrom makes. "I took a haircut," he explained, meaning he accepted lowered salary expectations as his...
and neighboring Fargo can no longer put glass in their curbside single-stream recycling bins. Glass can still be brought to recycling drop off sites in both cities, but it will be reused locally rather than being shipped to a Twin Cities recycling company. MinnKota Recycling, which handles curbside materials collected by Fargo and Moorhead, said it made the change after Twin Cities area businesses where it sent material decided they would no longer take shipments of glass, plastic, aluminum,... Website
